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Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance
Mergers and Acquisitions<br />

Mergers and Acquisitions

Global M&A

As you embark on an M&A transaction, you need commercial, pragmatic and solutions-orientated legal advisors by your side. Our global M&A team has everything covered.

Strategic business opportunities are important milestones for any organisation. Your deal may be a major acquisition, merger, divestment, joint venture or other transformational deal. Equally it may be a smaller but strategically important minority investment or partnership. At Clifford Chance we have the multi-disciplinary expertise and market knowhow to tackle every aspect of your M&A deal – large or small – from beginning to end.

We will provide strategic, legal, regulatory, sector and market practice advice, wherever you need it in the world. Increasingly M&A deals are across borders, with different regulatory and legal regimes causing additional complexity. Our global team will help you navigate this complexity and provide you with a first-class, tailored M&A deal experience.

Our multi-disciplinary experts will work together seamlessly and deploy market-leading technology solutions, always ensuring you get what you need and are expecting. We are holistic, pragmatic and grounded in our approach and have a good sense of what is possible and what is not. We value our relationships with clients above all else, and will work hand in hand with your in-house legal team to support and partner you throughout.

How Clifford Chance will help you

At all stages of the M&A cycle

Evaluating your M&A deal

We will help you to assess the feasibility of your proposed transaction, recognising the commercial backdrop, the political environment and wider risk and reputational considerations. We regularly draw on our global network to ensure we are fully plugged in to the dynamics of the M&A landscape globally, and are up to speed with foreign investment trends and the latest market, industry and regulatory developments.   

Structuring and diligence

As you move ahead with your deal, our cross-practice team will assist you with structuring advice, tax considerations and ownership structures. We will help you assess your fundraising and financing options, and give guidance on securities laws and disclosure issues. Our integrated cross-practice team will work hand-in-hand to structure your deal for maximum benefit and impact.

We will conduct legal due diligence on your business partners or target businesses, focusing on identifying red flags and reporting on areas most relevant to you.

Negotiating the deal and legal advice globally

Our core M&A expertise is in drafting and negotiating your deal documentation, including the latest market deal norms. On public M&A we will provide comprehensive advice on local takeover rules and bid strategy, including liaison with regulators and drafting public M&A documentation; On private M&A and joint ventures we will document the deal and negotiate hard on your behalf. We regularly draw on our broad team of experts including our Tech, Employment and Pensions, IP, Environmental, and Tax teams.

Antitrust, FDI and industry regulation

Our cross-jurisdictional antitrust team will guide you through the increasingly complex antitrust and competition landscape, from initial desktop analysis to detailed filings required to get your deal through. Our global team also has its finger on the pulse of the evolving foreign investment landscape, which includes political risk trends as well as new regulatory thresholds.

We will advise or lead negotiations with industry and regulatory bodies, using our deep sector experience and knowledge of these regulators.

Integration, restructuring and onward support

As well as contracts to ensure smooth transitional arrangements, we will help you to integrate businesses post-M&A (key services, risk and compliance, personnel, technology).

We will implement any post-completion corporate re-organisation, as required by the nature and scope of the transaction.  

Our broad M&A expertise

Acquisition or divestment

Acquisition or divestment
Sale / purchase of business assets or shares

Group reorganisation

Group reorganisation
Reorganisation or restructuring

Offensive and defensive strategies

Offensive and defensive strategies
Takeover defence and poison pill strategy; Dealing with activist shareholders

Financial investors

Financial investors
Dealing with the unique aspects of financial investors M&A

Joint venture

Joint venture
Partnership or strategic alliance

Public company M&A

Public company M&A
Merger or takeover

Demerger or spin-off

Demerger or spin-off
Unlocking the value of underlying businesses

Minority investment in share capital

Minority investment in share capital
Stakebuilding in public and private companies

Public offer to fund M&A

Public offer to fund M&A
Rights issue, open offer or placing

Recent client highlights

Avolon

Avolon on its agreement to acquire Castlelake Aviation Services Limited, a business with total assets of $5 billion (as of 31 March 2024), comprising a global portfolio of aircraft.

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Schibsted

Schibsted on voluntary offer for Adevinta by financial investors including Permira and Blackstone valued at US$13 billion.

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Standard Chartered

Standard Chartered on agreements to sell its global aviation leasing business to AviLease and a portfolio of secured aviation loans to PK Airfinance.

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Haier Group

Haier Group on the global regulatory filings for its RMB12.5 billion (approximately US$1.8 billion) acquisition of a 20% equity stake in blood products company Shanghai RAAS from Grifols, S.A.

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Arçelik on its formation of a new standalone business

Arçelik on the establishment of a joint venture between its subsidiary Ardutch and Whirlpool Corporation's subsidiary Whirpool EMEA Holdings LLC to create a new standalone business.

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Harbour Energy

Harbour Energy on US$11.2 billion acquisition of Wintershall Dea assets, transforming the company into one of the world’s largest and most geographically diverse independent oil and gas companies

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As well as being unquestionably knowledgeable, experienced, technically capable and well-staffed to serve clients, the Clifford Chance corporate team are a pleasure to deal with, demonstrating pragmatism and engaging with the in-house team and internal clients at a level which engenders a “one team” feeling like no other magic circle firm manages to do.

Legal500 UK 2024: Corporate M&A